A Future to Come
by OlfactorySensation
Summary: It has been 100 years since Eragon defeated Galbatorix. He has just visited Alagaësia for the first time since leaving and picked up two new students, but life in Alagaësia may not be done with him.
1. Chapter 1

**A Future to Come**

The sun had set hours ago as they flew on into the night. Eragon's two companions were huddled on Saphira's back behind him. He turned around to look at them.

 _Did I look this nervous to Brom?_ Eragon silently wondered to himself. "We are almost there," he told May and Niernen.

Despite being almost thirty years older, Niernen looked as old as May, but that was common with elves.

Saphira banked to her left causing the two children behind Eragon to scream. He felt Saphira rumble underneath him in what he assumed was a laugh before she plunged almost straight down causing the next wave of screams to be lost in the rushing air.

Saphira pulled up, beating her massive wings up and down as they gently settled onto a giant courtyard. It was cobbled with clean stone that had frequent gouges in the rock that looked familiarly like a dragon claw sized hole.

Eragon hopped off the now giant Saphira lithely before motioning for May to jump and be caught by him. He had barely looked at her by the time she was flying off the saddle and in Eragon's arms.

 _Looks like we've got a daring one,_ Saphira said to him.

 _You're telling me,_ Eragon answered. He put her down gently before looking back up at Niernen but he seemed to think he could jump the fifteen feet off of Saphira's back himself. Eragon stepped back as flew through the air to make space for him to land. He hit the ground smoothly before looking up at Eragon for approval.

"Looks like we've got each other a little rivalry already," Eragon said smiling. May looked at Niernen jealously, and thought to herself that she would jump, too, next time she got off Saphira.

Saphira bellowed into the starry sky and she walked towards the building where the dragon saddles were stored.

 _This thing makes my scales itch,_ she told Eragon telepathically. _Make me a new one when you show our hatchlings how to make their own._

At that moment, two high pitched roars could be heard above the grand courtyard where they stood. Two young dragons were flying overhead, racing each other to Eragon. It seemed they were just as competitive as their riders.

"Come on, Ignasia!" May shouted out, cheering on her dragon which shown white against the dark sky.

"Stjarna has him beat," Niernen said proudly. His dragon raced alongside Ignasia. They both slammed into the ground after barely slowing down in an effort to beat the other.

The loud crash caused Blödhgarm and a few other spellcasters to appear in their windows looking for what the noise was about. They saw the two new students running to their dragons and making sure they were okay.

Blödhgarm hopped out of his second story window to go over and meet Eragon.

"How was the flight, Eragon-elda?" Blödhgarm asked.

"Long and cold, but worth it," he said, smiling at his new students as they argued about who beat who. "We will start training tomorrow morning."

May and Niernen stopped talking and turned to Eragon at those words. "That means you all need to go with Saphira as she takes off her saddle and cares for scales. Such journeys can have a toll on young and old dragons. He smiled at them as they walked over to Saphira, already half-way out of her too-itchy saddle.

"Can you go with them and make sure they get to their rooms tonight? I have something I need to check on before the night is over," he told Blödhgarm.

"Of course, Eragon-elda," he said with typical confident indifference as turned and followed the new apprentices.

Eragon walked out of the large stone courtyard to the outskirts of Verda, his training ground for new riders. He assured Saphira's questioning thoughts as he walked away from the noise and into his secluded room.

He went inside to find dust on his table and bed after being away for the past month in Alagaësia for the Agaetí Blödhren. It was his first time back to his homeland, and he, for some reason, thought it would be his last time for a long time to come.

He walked over to his nightstand and pulled out a small book Angela had given him as a gift at the celebrations. Inside was scrawled in her slanted handwriting:

 _"Inside is a collection of warning for threats you will face. Not all will be necessarily bad, and I can't tell you when they will be. In times of unknown, look to this book._

 _\- Angela_

 _He turned to the first page and saw in the same handwriting a sentence which read:_

 _Blue eyes tell lies in the shadow of celebration._

 _Eragon stared at the page confused before closing the book and changing out of his travel clothes. He was too tired to care about Angela's warnings right now. His body ached, and his eyes begged for sleep as he felt Saphira's giant paws shaking the ground at every step._ _Are you asleep yet, little one?_ _she asked softly._

 _Soon. Come lay down and we'll fall asleep together._ _The idea must not have sounded too bad to Saphira, for she hurried over to Eragon's room and snaked her head into the open side of his room before falling asleep, thankful the long journey was over._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

May and Niernen woke up to the clashing of metal. The sun had just peeked over the distant horizon casting long shadows over two figures fighting in the courtyard. Their rooms had an open side that faced the courtyard instead of a wall with a door. Eragon had told them on the way over that it was so their dragons could lay their heads inside.

May rubbed the sleep from her eyes before getting up and dressed. She walked out into the courtyard to see Eragon and the elf from last night sparring. Niernen had been watching from his room.

May walked over to him and continued watching the fight. The swords moved too quick to track, and Eragon's feet shuffled around with the same speed. At last, Eragon side-stepped into the elf and thrust his sword against the elf's throat. The two stood still finally, breathing deeply.

Eragon lowered his sword and looked over to his spectators before walking over. "Enjoy the fight?" he asked calmly, his breathing returned to normal. The two students nodded, nervous at what was to come next.

Behind Eragon, the elf had grabbed two wooden swords with dull points. He walked up behind Eragon before tossing the swords to May and Niernen. May caught hers deftly and watched Niernen juggle his for a second.

"Scared?" she said. Niernen glared at her silently.

"Come to the center of the courtyard and face your opponent," Eragon instructed. The two children followed dutifully. Eragon eyed their stances with Blödhgarm next to him.

"I'll put a crown on Niernen winning," the elf said out of the side of his mouth.

"I'll take that bet," Eragon replied. "Fight!"

May was readier than Niernen as she took a quick step forward. Niernen faltered for a moment before stepping away just quick enough to avoid the sword. May followed with a wide sweep that Niernen blocked.

Niernen now swung his sword at her head. The blow connected, and May fell down, a bit of blood trickling down the side of her head. Eragon ran forward, immediately uttering a healing spell. May's eyes flickered open.

Eragon stood up to look at Niernen, towering over the young elf. "We do not attack the head when sparring," he said reprovingly. Niernen opened his mouth to apologize, but Eragon stopped him with a raised hand. "Do not apologize to me. Apologize to her," he said pointing at May. She glared at Niernen.

Niernen walked over to her, but she had jumped to her feet and was already swinging as Niernen barely raised his sword in time.

The fights lasted until noon at which point both students were sweaty and bruised.

"Time for lunch!" Eragon said cheerfully. He had spent his morning with Blödhgarm correcting the footwork and swings of his two students. May had improved quickly, while Niernen was more cautious and afraid to make a mistake.

Eragon gave each of his exhausted students a salad with berries sprinkled over it. The lettuce was bright green with beads of water hanging on the leaves.

"No meat?" May complained. As the only human Eragon had yet to train, he was not used to salads being rejected.

"It is elvish custom not to eat meat, and while at Verda, I ask you respect both elven customs as well as my own." Eragon took a bite of his own salad as May picked around hers. Eventually caving to her rumbling stomach, she cautiously ate a leaf of lettuce.

As the color returned to his pupils faces, Blödhgarm stirred next to Eragon. "Niernen, you will be training in the afternoon with me alone. May, you will be Eragon." May looked up at Eragon excitedly, while Niernen seemed less than enthused. "Tomorrow, you will switch teachers. Niernen, today I will be teaching you how to control your magic."

Niernen got up from his spot on the ground to follow Blödhgarm's quickly disappearing figure. Eragon looked to May. "While Saphira is teaching Ignasia and Stjarna the basics of flying, I'll be teaching you how to care for your dragon." May's face fell slightly at the prospect of what seemed like dirty work.

"But how will learn to care for Ignasia if he is training with Saphira?" May asked.

Eragon raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't think we only had three dragons in Verda, did you?" he asked as a faint roar could be heard in the distant skies.

"You have more dragons?" May asked wide-eyed.

Eragon smiled and said, "Well, I don't. Saphira is my one and only, but one of my students before you were even born decided to stay on Verda with me for some reason. You'll be learning dragon care with a full-grown dragon. He was quite hesitant to offer his time to your learning."

 _May seems scared for once,_ Eragon said silently to Saphira. Saphira responded with the images of Ignasia tumbling through the clouds as if he had forgotten how to fly. Eragon smiled.

"Come on," Eragon said before walking away, not bothering to wait for his student.

Eragon's first student trained with him for fifty years before becoming a fully-fledged rider, and May and Niernen were no different. Fifty years passed from their arrival and the end of their training arrived…

"I cannot readily teach you now what you do not know. Go into the role of council, protector, and hero. Stand and be Riders," Eragon said to his two kneeling students.

They stood and looked at Eragon with smiles on their faces. May's face was lined with wrinkles which showed her age. Niernen looked to be an adult now, nearing his hundredth birthday.

"Go to your mother land and protect your people from those who wish to disturb its peace."

In the ancient language, they each repeated after each other, "You have taught us well, Eragon-elda." And so, quick as blink, Eragon was completely and utterly alone except for Saphira, Blödhgarm and a few elves who still remained.

 _What do you plan to do now, little one?_ Saphira asked. Eragon ruminated on the thought. He had known his students would be leaving soon for the past ten years, and yet for all his thought he hadn't the slightest clue.

 _Fifty years ago, at the Agaeti Blodhren, do you remember seeing eyes in the shadows? They were bright blue, and the gift Angela gave warned against blue eyes at a celebration. Do you think they are connected?_ Eragon asked.

 _It was a long time ago, no? Shouldn't this threat have already acted if he was one?_ Saphira responded.

 _Angela said that not all her warnings are bad. Maybe this man could be good? Though I doubt I'll be able to find him now._ Eragon walked out of the courtyard to his room, watching the once busy courtyard sit still.

He went to his nightstand and pulled out the familiar book, bound in purple leather of what he was sure was a species only known to Angela. He stared at the cover for minutes. The wind was the only sound, and Saphira lay next to his room with a big blue eye staring at him.

 _I think we should go back,_ Eragon said finally.

 _It is a long journey to Alagaesia, and you felt what I did when we landed, I am sure. I knew when we left we were saying goodbye for more than fifty years. Much more, I think, now. We will grow old in this land._

Eragon sat quietly and thought about what she said. _We do not have to stay. We have no students right now, not until the next riders are born and sent to us. What should we do if not go to Alagaesia?_

The question hurt to ask as thoughts of Arya and Carvahall and the land filled his head. Asking it was an admittance that he knew they would not go back soon.

 _Wait. Explore. Learn more. We are our own teachers, Eragon._ She felt the turmoil inside Eragon, the longing to return, and sent thoughts of comfort to him.

 _How should we learn, then?_ _We have no books we have not read, and Blödhgarm knows no more than we do._

 _We experiment,_ Saphira said lazily. Eragon laid back on his bed to look at Saphira.

 _Will we be okay? We are alone, Saphira, and I know your heart as well as mine. We are lonely in this lonely land._

 _We will be okay, little one. We have to be._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Arya**

 _The Moon is a scholar,_

 _So She'll know when I ask:_

 _A question with no answer is_

 _the Moon shining back._

Arya was on Firnen's back, scanning the forest below her. Du Weldenvarden was dying, or so she thought. The Agaeti Blodhren would commence within the cycle of the moon, and the forest had never looked so tired. As she flew northward to the less traveled towns and more secluded, primal elves, she saw the land beneath her grow more and more feeble. The dark greens that surrounded Ellesmera were muted here, even in the confident spring day the forest had been locked in for the past millennium. After flying for most of the day, the final of the elven towns appeared on the horizon.

 _Let's stop there,_ Arya said. Firnen rumbled beneath her in acknowledgement.

The air whistled by her pointed ears and became warmer as they descended into the thin forest.

Firnen landed heavily in the wooded clearing. In the town, Arya heard the grumble of elves and the opening and closing of doors. An elf appeared in front of her, winding through the thin trees.

"Arya-elda. Firnen-elda," the elf said in turn, greeting each with his fingers brushing his lips. The elf was green and covered in what looked to be a mixture of mud and foliage. It explained how he appeared so quickly. Arya looked at the ground suspecting there were others watching that she could not see.

"I am not here but for a minute and only to ask a question," Arya said. The elf bowed his head and continued listening. "Have you seen a stranger here?" Arya eyed the elf trying to see if he would lie.

He looked up at her saying, "There has been no one."

"What of the trees? You have seen no cause to their withering?"

"There has been no withering, Arya-elda. The trees have been the same for the last century." Firnen brought the side of his head close to the elf and gazed at him with a green eye. The elf looked back, and suddenly, Firnen's mind was shielded from her. A second later, he pulled his head back, his lips pulled back revealing long fangs.

 _What is it, Firnen?_ Arya said worriedly as his defenses fell.

 _I cannot say. We should leave this place._ His mind was hiding the conversation he had just had.

 _How old must we grow before you stop keeping secrets?_ Arya said exasperated. Firnen did not answer.

Arya leaped onto his back as Firnen raised to his back legs and brought his wings down buffeting the trees. Soon they were again flying over Du Weldenvarden, now heading south in the darkening sky. Ellesmera was on the horizon, and as they grew nearer, the buzz of magic surrounding the upcoming Agaeti Blodhren grew louder.

Two weeks had passed since Arya and Firnen's trip into the northern reaches of the forest, and celebration was due to commence in four hours. Arya was in her room, staring at her face in a bowl of water. Her mind was on Eragon. She had not thought of him in the hundred years since the Great War, and his name sounded foreign in her mind. She whispered it to herself to see what it sounded like and shivered.

The cry of elves outside roused her from her thoughts. Shouts and screams of joy echoed around the courtyard outside before being drowned out in the heavy flapping of wings. Eragon's first two students should not have been here. Arya had told them to stay in the capital and not to return for the celebrations in order to keep the peace in a series of small riots that had taken place.

She rushed to the balcony to see what urgent message they had that made them abandon their post and instead saw a great, blue dragon among a crowd of onlookers with a rider on its back. He was surveying the courtyard before locking eyes with her.

His face was kind and surrounded by shoulder length hair. He looked powerful. She stared at him, and he stared back for what could have been minutes, before he smiled and hopped off his dragon. The elves around him bowed and mumbled niceties in hurried voices. He walked towards the palace, winding his way through the crowd with his dragon following by his side. The elves were quick to move out of its way.

At last he stopped at the big oak doors that guarded the entrance to the castle. He stared at them patiently, acting blissfully unaware of the crowd behind him.

Arya rushed back from the balcony and down the wooden steps. She paused at the inside of the entrance doors. She took a breath before waving her hand and watching them open. He stood in front of her, a small smile on his face.

"Hello, Arya Svit-kona."

"Hello, Eragon."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Eragon followed Arya into the forest surrounding Ellesmera. She walked sure footed through the dense trees and winding roots that obscured any path that might be there. Eragon watched her from behind, her lithe figure gently swaying back and forth with each step, her black hair tied back and shining in the faint light reaching the forest floor.

Arya stopped at a small stream and sat on a mossy rock. Eragon did the same. They sat in comfortable silence for some time before reaching out with their minds tentatively. Arya saw the brighter light among the bright forest that was Eragon's mind. She brushed against it cautiously, gently feeling his consciousness.

She tried to mask her surprise, but he caught it before she fully withdrew.

"Something happen?" Eragon asked inquisitively.

Arya looked at him approvingly. "You do not have the same mind you did a hundred years ago, Eragon-elda."

"Just Eragon for you," Eragon corrected, smiling. Arya smiled back.

"The nations have missed your presence in the past years, Eragon," Arya said. "And I have, too," she whispered quietly. Eragon's eyes deepened then as if he were not seeing around him but somewhere else.

"I never wanted to leave. Since I stepped foot on Verda, I have missed Alagaesia, my family, and you, too," Eragon said, equally quiet. "But I could not come back, not yet. For those who need me in this country, I have found my students a suitable replacement for all but one." Eragon looked at Arya, but her eyes were only on the stream in front of them.

She sat still for a moment as Eragon watched her, afraid that after a hundred years, nothing had changed between them. "What I said about our friendship was due to circumstance, and you are not the man that left so long ago. I cannot let my past words speak for the present, but…" she trailed off.

"You are Queen now," Eragon finished for her. She nodded. "Can I tell you something I have kept secret from everyone barring Saphira for the past century?" Arya looked at him, waiting.

"I have grown lonely. _We_ have grown lonely. Verda does not hold the same love in my heart as this forest, and those who keep me company are only friends. Friends are fine, they were for a hundred years, and yet my heart yearns for more. For you."

"I cannot say I do not echo these feelings. The rooms of Tialdari Hall seem increasingly cold, and Firnen is my only true companion among a great many elves. I have found no one who has understood what we went through in the war. I have missed you dearly, Eragon."

Eragon stood from his spot where he was sitting and sat next to Arya. They stared at the stream and its ripples.

Eragon dug into the small nugget of magic within his brain and thought the words to make it so before lifting a sphere of water from the swiftly moving water. The orb of water floated in front of them before bubbling and changing shape. As the shape grew more refined, a stem appeared and petals at the top. The water solidified into crystalline blue before floating into Arya's hands.

"So your magic has grown as eloquent as your tongue," she said, her eyes glistening. A lone tear dripped down her cheek. Eragon gently grabbed her chin and wiped the tear away.

"Let it be a promise," he said, "to not leave each other again. I cannot say if this will end well, only that it is worse to have not tried."

Arya laughed, the sound of the prettiest bird, and loveliest waterfall, all for Eragon.

"Let's try, then."

A/N: I know this chapter is very short, but I'm just making this stuff up as I go. I have quite a few people across the globe reading my story which is so awesome to me! I'd love to hear what you have to say, so please leave a review. (I only have 1 so far.)

Lots of love to everyone, and a happy New Year!


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